TWO Merseyside men aged 29 were among a group of 18 arrested in raids across the region this morning in a police swoop on North West drug gangs.

Doors in Sevenoak Grove, Prescot and Freesia Avenue, Walton, were kicked in from 7am as were addresses in Preston, Blackburn and Cumbria

Those arrested were all men aged between 26 and 33.

The operation – code named Operation Oak - involved officers from Lancashire’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, the Targeted Crime Units from Preston and Blackburn and officers from Cumbria and Merseyside Police.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Leeson, of Lancashire Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, who is heading Operation Oak, said: "This morning’s raids are part of an ongoing investigation into the activities of a suspected organised crime group and a drugs supply chain that has seen heroin and cocaine being moved across, and sold in, Lancashire, Cumbria and Merseyside.”

"While crime as a whole is low in Lancashire, the activities of serious and organised criminals can have a dramatic effect on our communities. It can ruin lives, fuel other crime, such as burglary and robbery, and can install fear in our neighbourhoods. Lancashire Constabulary is committed to tackling organised crime and we would ask that communities help us in doing this. "It is incredibly important that people continue to provide the police with information so that we can keep them safe and look for ways to prevent organised crime groups from operating in the future.” If you have information about crime, contact Lancashire Constabulary on 0845 1 25 35 45 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.